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Astronaut shandy on tap in galaxy not far away

WHILE Australian cities push ahead with desalination plants,
residents of the most expensive house the world has ever built are
ready to swallow recycled sewage.

At 11.55 am today (Saturday), Sydney time, seven space-age
plumbers will set out on a two-week house call to the International
Space Station.

Among tonnes of cargo the shuttle Endeavour is set to haul aloft
will be a much needed second toilet for the multibillion-dollar
orbital outpost, and a box of electronics dubbed, in NASA jargon,
the ``environment control and life support system''.

It will be plugged into the station's toilet, allowing the crew
to recycle urine, and perspiration that has evaporated into the
cabin air, into drinking water.

"Although some people may think its downright disgusting,'' said
the Endeavour astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, ``if it's
done correctly, you process water that's purer than what you drink
here on Earth.''

Each station astronaut, says NASA, uses about 3.5 litres of
water a day. Of that, 1.5 litres is generated by a Russian
recycling system condensing cabin water air moisture, including
evaporated sweat and exhaled vapour. The rest must be delivered
from Earth by shuttles, and unmanned Russian and European cargo
spacecraft.

However, the station's thirst for water will soar next year when
the full-time crew doubles to six. Supplying water will become even
harder after 2010 when the shuttle fleet is mothballed.

Thus, for the station's crew, who spend up to six months
circling the Earth, there will soon be no option to sipping
shandies of recycled urine and sweat.

Endeavour's commander, Christopher Ferguson, whose team will
also attempt to repair a faulty station solar array, noted the
outpost had plenty of waste to recycle.

"There's so much liquid waste that right now we just [it] dump
overboard.''

NASA estimates the recycling will reduce the water that needs to
be blasted into space every year by 2850 kilograms, or almost
two-thirds.

Jeff Angel, the director of the Total Environment Centre, said
he hoped the technology would inspire managers of Australia's "
increasingly scarce water reserves'.'

"If they can survive for months at a time in space using water
from this system then we should have no concern about proposals to
supply a diluted combination of dam water and recycled water for
potable purposes.''

Dr Jon Clarke, the vice-president of Mars Society Australia,
dedicated to promoting exploration of the red planet, noted that
"on Earth many places already recycle effluent and put it back into
waterways, especially in Europe. We are just squeamish here in
Oz.''

Waste passing through the space station's recycling system will
be spun to separate various liquids before going through a series
of filtration beds for further purification. Micro-organisms will
be destroyed by heating. However, before the station crew gets to
enjoy their recycled water, samples will first be returned to Earth
for detailed testing to ensure the drop is fit to drink.